Colville High continues unbeaten this spring.
The Indians of coach Jim Ebel, coming off a rainout weekend where they were scheduled to play at Clarkston, had three days off before a pivotal game last week at East Valley.
“With that rainout at Clarkston, we had three days off,” Ebel said.
Then last Monday, one day before heading to East Valley for a key Great Northern League softball game, the Indians turned in a clunker of a practice.
“We were horrible,” Ebel said. “It was our worst practice of the year.”

Cabbage stars

Not to worry. The “Gamers” of CHS rolled over East Valley, 10-2, behind a 15-hit attack and right-hander McKenna Cabbage’s 12 strikeouts and no earned runs. She also went 4-4 with a home run.
“Is that a game or what?” Ebel marveled at the 2013 GNL Most Valuable Player.
EV RECAP
Centerfielder and leadoff hitter Jessi Wittmeyer got the ball rolling in the first inning with a hard two-hopper that bounced off the third baseman’s glove. She promptly stole second and third and scored on catcher Kayla Howes’ ground out to make it 1-0 early.
Wittmeyer made it 2-0 in the third inning with a solo home run over the centerfield fence.
Leftfielder Miranda Tostenson singled and later scored on one of Cabbage’s four hits to make it 3-0 through three innings.
The game stayed that way until the bottom of the fifth inning when East Valley’s first baseman lined a double off the glove of third baseman Emily Poling. She eventually came around to score on an infield error.
Colville got a run back in the sixth when rightfielder Chantel Nussbaum doubled off the top of the centerfield fence. Two outs later, shortstop Baylee Main drilled a double to score Nussbaum and make it 4-1 Colville.
But East Valley wasn’t through.
A double and a relay from Nussbaum in the outfield that skipped past Poling at third got East Valley a run after it went out of play.

Big inning

Leading by that slim 4-2 margin in the top of the seventh inning, Colville’s bats responded in a major way. After a long 10-pitch, one out walk to Howes, Cabbage hit the first pitch over the centerfield wall for a little breathing room and a 6-2 lead.
Colville sent eight more hitters to the plate and scored four more runs to turn a tight game into a rout. Doubles by Hannah Smith and Bonnie Carpenter, singles by Donielle Howell and Nussbaum, all produced runs.
Ebel was just happy to have a win that looked much easier on the scoreboard than it actually was.
“On the scoreboard, it looked like an easy game,” Ebel said. “But it was anything but that. Again, we had a tough time adjusting to slower pitching. We were swinging at high-rise balls out of the (strike) zone.
“We have to have better plate discipline and keep trying to hit the ball to the opposite field to be successful against these junk pitchers. That’s something we will be working on this week.”
THIS WEEK
Colville is scheduled to play a doubleheader at Clarkston on Thursday. That’s a make-up of a doubleheader that was rained out back on March 29.
The Indians are the road warriors this week with a single game scheduled on Tuesday, April 8 at Pullman (4 p.m.).
Colville will return home on Saturday, April 12 for a doubleheader at Vaagen Park against Cheney. The opener starts at noon.